Better Ways of Eating: The 3-A-Day Meal Plan

Did you know that there’s no good reason for eating three meals a day? It’s not like scientists sat down one day and decided when we should eat what and at what frequency. So why do we eat the three typical meals per day, and is there a better, healthier strategy that we should be utilizing?

Our habit of eating “three square meals” a day goes all the way back to the workdays of our ancestors in Europe. They’d wake with the sunrise, take forever to heat up their food (you know, starting their own fires, collecting eggs from their own chickens, etc.), and finally be eating their first meal around 8/9:00 AM, breaking their fast from the evening before (yes, that is where the term comes from). Of course they’d be running out of fuel about halfway through the day and would take a break during some of the hottest hours of the day (just after noon) for a break which later became known as lunch during the industrial revolution. Then dinner would come when they got off work and went home to their families. The 3-A-Day Meal Plan is as old as time itself- but it’s not exactly very effective.

When you look back at Native American and African tribes, they were not bound to such stringent meal times. They ate when they were hungry- though this seemed primitive and barbarian to Europeans at the time, it was truly the healthier way to nourish their bodies. However, grazing all throughout the day isn’t healthy in our modern society either.

So where’s the happy medium? We can’t starve ourselves until dinner, but we don’t want to be snacking all day. And besides, our society still structures everything around our three mealtimes: restaurants only serve certain “breakfast” items until a certain time of day, we only get one lunch break at work, and our significant other doesn’t want to help cook more than one dinner every night. It seems too complicated to switch it up.

We want to help you make your eating schedule more stressless. No more empty, grumbling tummies; no more stuffed, bloated bellies; just happy, nutritious, balanced eating on your schedule. It just takes a little bit of planning and conscious effort. Here are a few alternatives to the 3-A-Day Meal Plan that can help your diet spring into shape.

The Hobbit Meal Plan

I’m starting with this one because it is my favorite! To describe it, I want to remind you of a cute scene from The Fellowship of the Ring (the first Lord of the Rings movie):

Aragorn is leading the hobbits away from the town of Bree, where the Nazgul were hot on Frodo’s trail. In the early morning, the hobbits stop to take a break for food but Aragorn calls back to them: “Gentlemen, we do not stop til nightfall.” Pippin is, of course, very frustrated with missing his meals and responds, “what about breakfast?” After Aragorn responds that they’ve already had a meal today, Pippin rebuts, “we’ve had one, yes. What about second breakfast?” When Aragorn ignores him, he worriedly asks Merry, “what about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?” (spoiler alert, Aragorn doesn’t know about those either)

What we’re trying to explain is that, in Tolkien’s world, hobbits were constantly eating. They had at least seven meals a day, which sounds like a lot. However, these hobbits were really on to something…

If you eat seven small, lean, healthy meals a day, you’ll be doing pretty well for yourself. Just make sure you have enough hours in the day to make time for seven meals; if you’re waking at 9 A.M. and going to bed at 10 P.M., you probably don’t want this plan. Think about this sort of meal schedule:

BREAKFAST, 7 AM- a protein rich meal, like eggs and chicken sausage
SECOND BREAKFAST, 9:30 AM- a lighter meal packed with energy for the day, like Greek yogurt or oatmeal
ELEVENSIES, 11 AM (duh)- another light meal, almost like a big snack, like trail mix, granola, a protein bar
LUNCHEON, 1 PM- protein and veggies, like a grilled chicken salad or light stir-fry
AFTERNOON TEA, 3:30 PM- keep it light. Have a small caffeine fix (like tea!) and eat small snacks to sustain energy, like nuts and cucumber sammies.
DINNER, 5:30 PM- This is your big meal of the day. If you’re a carb freak, this is where you eat your heavier dishes like rice bowls and pasta. If you can cut carbs down, you can opt for heavier meats like lamb or steak.
SUPPER, 8 PM- Your final meal before bed. Something light, perhaps leftovers from the day. Don’t stuff yourself, and eat at least two hours before you go to bed.

It’s a lot of food per day, but it’s delicious and wonderful- especially for those of you trying to stack on muscle but keep lean. It can be hard to force yourself to eat a lot of protein at once, so spreading out smaller doses throughout the day helps. We also recommend working out either between first and second breakfast or between afternoon tea and dinner. Just make sure you’re feeding yourself adequate protein after a workout!

5-A-Day Meal Plan

This is a much more common plan to hear of. It works very well but doesn’t have as fun of a schedule as The Hobbit’s, so people tend to forget it’s eating time. We recommend, as you start this plan, that you set alarms on your phone or watch to keep yourself on top of getting your meals in. By the time you notice you’re really hungry, you’ve probably missed a meal.

Researchers at Cornell say that you should be eating every three to four hours to stay nourished throughout the day- and that’s what this plan is all about. This plan is great for people who are working office jobs and have busy lives- you know, the ones that think switching off a 3-A-Day Plan is impossible. You can absolutely do it, but it’ll mean packing more food to bring into work (get a REALLY big lunch box).

The plan is simple, really: you eat your typical three meals a day, but you add in two more- and all five meals are made much smaller. We’re talking lean cuisine size portions (though don’t eat lean cuisine, that stuff is terrible for you). Here’s a sample of the kind of plan you’d be on:

MEAL #1, 7:30 AM- protein dense, with eggs, cottage cheese, perhaps morning meats.
MEAL #2, 10:30 AM- think energy. Get a big bowl of yogurt or oatmeal with berries and honey. Don’t eat foods that’ll make you crash, like cereal or sandwiches.
MEAL #3, 1 PM- put your veggies here! Big salads, lean proteins like chicken and fish
MEAL #4, 4 PM- eat nuts and veggie chips and hummus and peanut butter- light snacks that turn into a meal.
MEAL #5, 7 PM- A slightly larger meal, but only just. You can have something heavier here like red meats, but it’s best to keep light with fish, veggies, and healthy grains.

The danger with this plan is that you may get hungry again before you go to bed, but you won’t have ample time between eating and sleeping to fully digest your food. Try not to snack outside of the given plan but, if you must, opt for protein shakes and smoothies. If you’re hungry after all this food, maybe you’re dehydrated (drink more water)- or perhaps opt for a green tea which will cut down on cravings.

Do the Math

When it comes down to it, this is your body. No set plan is going to be the optimal for every body out there. While Eric would probably do best on the Hobbit Plan, I do best with the 5-A-Day Plan. What it really comes down to is this: how much does your body need, how often do you need to take it in, and what stipulations come with that?

I recommend, if none of the above options have worked for you, designing your own meal plan and sticking to it. Based on your weight, height, gender, body fat percentage, weight goals, and fitness goals, design a meal plan that is going to feed you sufficiently. Then, divide up your caloric intake and evenly distribute it throughout the day as needed.

For example, I am 24 years old, 124 pounds, 18% body fat, and 5’6”. Based on all that, coupled with my goals of gaining muscle and decreasing body fat even further, I know that I need to take in around 2400 calories a day of clean, lean foods- ideally with minimal unhealthy fats and oodles of nutrients. I know that I need a good hearty breakfast, a lean lunch with virtually no carbs (carbs make me sleepy, especially in the afternoon), a few healthy snacks in between, a light and veggie-dense dinner, and a tiny evening snack before I get ready for bed. From all this information, I can design an easy meal plan. (Tip: I just decided to create this example from scratch, and it took me approximately five minutes to figure out all of my needs to design a plan. This is not a difficult science, this is not something you need a consultation for; this is something you can do quickly and easily at home.)

Don’t keep eating three meals a day if that strategy leaves you feeling hungry, tired, bloated, hangry, or unsatisfied. If you’re not feeling nourished, it’s probably because you’re malnourished! If you need help designing your meal plan or want further tips on any of the meal plans we’ve mentioned here, give us a shout and we’ll answer your questions, or put another article like this on the docket for the future!